Shoppers’ habits have been “transformed” by the recession, with more people opting to save cash by buying their essentials from budget stores.

New research out today proves there has been a surge in the numbers shopping at Aldi and Lidl.

The Where We Shop survey, which analysed the spending habits of 3,000 Irish consumers over the past year, found 37% of people said they have been shopping at Aldi more, with Lidl being the store of choice for 29% of people.

But Tesco still came out top in the report, prepared by consumer magazine Checkout and Ignite Research, with 30% of shoppers saying they were loyal customers of the retail giant.

The budget stores lagged behind when it came to loyalty, with just 18% saying they were devoted to Aldi and 11% declaring an allegiance to Lidl.

SuperValu may not have come out top in the report for customer loyalty, but Ireland’s biggest grocery store has seen a surge in custom of 12% over the past year and is seen as a strong supporter of Irish goods.

When asked which supermarket is best at promoting Irish products, one third of shoppers named SuperValu, followed by Dunnes at 23%, Aldi at 12%, Tesco at 11% and Lidl at just 6%.